Two Years Later At A Certain Place
by GoodAsianBoy
Summary: Two years after the events of the film, having rebuilt their relationship, Taki has finally decided that he wants to be with Mitsuha for the rest of his life. And so, he decided to make a trip with Mitsuha to go to the mountains where the Miyamizu Shrine is hidden. Little does he know that strange memories start to come up the closer they approach Kataware-doki.
1. Itinerary

Two Year Later At A Certain Place

Written by the GoodAznBoi

Inspired by u/ArkFord

"Geez, Taki nii-chan, you're overthinking this!"

"But it has to be perfect. Tessie didn't have much trouble asking Sayaka. It's as if everyone knew from the beginning that they would end up together."

"Nee-chan did always tease them about that," Yotsuha says as she takes a sip of freshly brewed tea.

"Tsukasa's a goof, but that idiot somehow charmed his way into Okudera-senpai's heart," Taki says as his pencil makes a silent, but audible rhythm. "Honestly, who hides a wedding ring in someone's dessert after their date? She could've choked on it had she not noticed."

"It seemed to work. I think she likes that he's so silly."

"He could've just told me that they were married at the cafe?"

"You were unemployed, with no girlfriend, and didn't open up to them about it. Maybe he saw that you needed a little femine advice."

"Maybe…,"

Utter silence filled the room, but you could feel an uneasiness. Taki may have been keeping his thoughts to himself, but his frustration was leaking throughout the confines of the apartment walls. Yotsuha sips more of her tea, so as to not feel this tension, but almost spills her drink when she hears a loud slam from the table. Hands red, but firmly planted on the tabletop, Taki forcibly gets up from his chair. He crumples the lists of ideas (and a couple of doodles) and throws the wad behind him. He tousles his messy hair in frustration. His head muddled with uncertainty.

"AHHHH why can't I do this!."

The ball of ideas hits Yotsuha in the head. Trying to relax in the couch, she couldn't tolerate to see her older sister's boyfriend give himself such unnecessary stress.

"He's been at this for hours, idiot," she thought to herself.

She knew that the brainstorming had to come to an end, and that she had to intervene. She takes a deep breath, walks over to the table and sets her tea down on a coaster. She then approaches Taki, the distance between their faces was uncomfortably small, but she had to do it in order for sister's boyfriend to understand. Her fingers darted at Taki like how a mother scolds her troublesome child.

"Nii-chan, I like you. Oba-chan likes you. At least two-thirds of the Miyamizu girls likes you. Can't you rest easy at night knowing that we already accept you, idiot and all?" she asks as she nudges Taki on the torso with her elbow.

"Ugh, not funny Yotsuha!"

"Why are you so worried? You know she's gonna say yes."

Taki slowly sits back down, "I know, but it has to be perfect. Wouldn't she feel like we're moving too fast?"

"Ahh you're so dumb, it's been two years already!"

Yotsuha leaves the room in frustration.

"Honestly, you two we're meant to be stupid together!" She slams her bedroom door.

However, Taki couldn't help but agree with her. Though it's never really brought up, Taki is dating a girl who is turning 28 in a couple of months. Most peers her age have already been married, some are even raising children. He twirls his pencil around between his finger, deep in thought.

"What am I gonna do?," he says as he fold his arms and rests on the tabletop.

He wondered why it was so difficult for him to plan his proposal to his girlfriend. Asking her out seemed more intuitive. He seemed rather fortunate that day. As far as he was concerned, that was his first time meeting her, but felt they were connected in some way; the tears they shared reflected that feeling. Time passed and he got to know her better. Cautious at first, Tessie and Sayaka welcomed him with open arms. Okudera-senpai took a great liking to her; Tsukasa always teased Taki that she could easily steal her away from him, and he was the only one who can prevent that from happening. They shared stories with each other. Mitsuha told him all about her mundane life in the countryside: how the train passed every two hours, how there seemed to be two pubs, but no dental care, and how she and Tessie sawed logs by the local vending machine in order to remedy the lack of a town cafe. Interestingly, that last story really stuck with Taki for some reason. He could vividly picture from his point of view sawing the logs with Tessie, breaking a sweat working under the sun, teasing him about his crush on Sayaka. It felt weird, but he remembered a time when he was fascinated about the tragedy that befell Mitsuha's home ten years ago. He knew he spent his days in library reading, drawing diagrams of the town, but he could never figure out what caused his fixation.

Taki raises his head, drool spilled all over his forearm. He hadn't realized that he dozed off planning his itinerary. The lights turn on and Mistuha's grandmother comes in the living room holding a blanket in her arm.

"Oh, I see you woke up. You fell asleep on the table, and I thought you might be cold. What's wrong? Proposing to my granddaughter can't be that daunting for you, Taki-kun?"

Taki grabs the blanket from her as he sets a cup of tea on the table "Sort of. I wanted to do it in a way that showed her how much she meant to me." Suddenly he thought of an idea.

"Oba-chan. Mitsuha told me that you three visit a family shrine high up in the mountains."

"Yes we did, but since these old bones can no longer bear my weight I let Mitsuha and Yotsuha go without me. We may have been forced out of our land, but we must keep our tradition alive," she says as she gulps down the hot leaf juice.

"What if I take her there? I'm pretty sure she'll like that. I even know about Musubi, and how the braid she wears represents the flow of time."

Oba-chan smiles and laughs "Goodness, I don't need to hear that. I've spent my whole life learning that, but I'm glad that the future of my people will be remembered by you two. Go. The trip to Itomori is long."

Taki hugs her in gratitude. Taki dashes towards his bedroom. The sounds were murmured, but you could hear someone eagerly waking up his girlfriend, and momentarily the sounds of said someone being hit by a pillow for rudely interrupting their girlfriend's peaceful slumber.

"Oh I envy the young, don't you Futaba?" She looks up at a picture of her daughter on the wall, as she sips some more of her tea.


	2. Hike

The sun was shining over the trees, and the fresh breeze carried a scent that seemed nostalgic to the lovely couple.

"I remember coming here with Tsukasa and Okudera-senpai a while back, but I never thought that air here was so fresh!"

Mitsuha looks back at him, hiking stick in hand, "Walk a little faster. I'm the only one between us who knows their way around here, and I'll damned if you get lost under my hands."

Like a bulter addressing his madam properly, Taki politely answers, "Yes, Miyamizu-san, I will stick by you closely!"

Inching onward, the terrain began slowly getting steeper, as well as Taki's pace. He clasps his knees, trying to hold his weight. He regains his composure, and wipes the river of sweat on his face.

"How are you so fit?" He says as he heaves to catch his breath, "I thought I was in good shape, but you're an animal, Mitsuha!"

"I told you I was in a basketball team, remember?"

Suddenly Taki gets a flashback. From his point of view, Taki was dribbling a ball across the court, blindingly passing by the defense. With the basket straight ahead, Taki takes two dribbles before raising his arm for a layup. The crowd went in an uproar. His teammates gathered to congratulate him. He couldn't help but notice that his teammates were all girls. His chest bounced as the team were jumping up and down in celebration. He brushed his hair back and grabbed on what seemed to be a ponytail. He pulls his hair to his face. It was soft to the touch, and shined a dark, black hue. Though he was sweaty, his hair smelled rather pleasant. It was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He turns around to face the audience. All the boys seem to be staring at him. Others were chanting "Mitsuha, you're so kawaii!" Furious, Taki couldn't help himself and yelled out to the crowd.

"Oi, you bastards! Don't stare at a winner, especially when her boyfriend can kick your ass!" Rather than a receptive crowd, a lone squirrel was starring Taki in the face, tilting his small, round head in confusion.

"Eh?"

"What are you doing? We're not gonna reach the shrine before sunset if you're goofing off like that. Let's go!"

Taki looks back at the squirrel pointing his two finger towards the squirrel, "I'm watching you!" Threatened, the squirrel proceeds to throw the berry it was holding at Taki. All Taki could do was walk away and wipe his face in shame.

The two sat down for lunch underneath the shade of an old tree. Afar, Taki can see the Miyamizu shrine. From the outside it looked like a boulder that was naturally guarded by the stream that wraps around it. Taki can't help but be impressed at the grandeur of this place. He took a deep breath to soak it all in. Despite Tokyo being only a few hours away, to him the mountains were like a completely different domain whose contents were not tampered by mankind's endeavors, but respected.

"Here," Mistuha hands him a drink. Taki gulps the iced tea. The cool, dark taste quenches and refreshes the weary traveler. "Actually, Oba-chan used to say that sharing a drink is Musubi."

"Can I have some too?" a familiar voice calls out to Taki.

"Sure" Taki turns to hand his drink, "Yotsuha!" he yells out in shock. By his side was young Yotsuha holding out her hands, waiting for him to give her the cup of iced tea. He turns neck to see Oba-chan right in front of him smiling.

"That is also Musubi." she says happily

"But I thought your old bones make it hard for you to walk here?"

"Taki-kun? Taki-kun?" Taki looks at Mitsuha.

A puzzled Mitsuha looks at her boyfriend "Taki-kun, are you alright?" Concerned, she places the back of her hand on his forehead. "The heat shouldn't affect you, it's autumn." Taki gently removes her hand from his forehead.

"Yeah, I just saw something familiar."

The two continue their journey to the shrine. Once inside both of them shined their flashlights at the altar that stood before them.

"So this is it, huh?"

"Yup, this is where I offer my saliva sake to the gods," Mitsuha says proudly.

Taki strokes his chin in curiosity, "I wonder how kuchikamizake taste like?"

Mistuha couldn't but picture herself on a billboard, shaman robe and all, selling her saliva liquor. The thought of her loved ones congratulating her on her strange, but lucrative success made her blush. "It breaks the Liquor Tax Law!"

"What?" Taki tilted his head confused by his girlfriend's response. Mitsuha's face became even more red.

"Nevermind what I said, let's go back to the top of the crater. I want to see the sun set before we go home."

"Yes, my kuchimaizake princess"

Face puffed with embarrassment, Mitsuha takes the lead, when she suddenly missteps on a slippery rock. Everything went black...

Mitsuha opens her eyes. Everything seemed blurry at first, but she was able to recall where she was. A sharp pain radiated from her head. As she held her hand, she noticed something was off.


	3. Treasure

"This hand," she said, "It's rough, and larger than mine." Many times she's held Taki's hand, and she knows all too well that his hands are rough, worn down from the many hours he spends drawing diagrams. He enjoys the work he does at the construction firm, Tessie always tells her of the shenanigans those two get into when they collaborate on a project, but it has taken a toll on his fingers. She wraps her arms around her shoulders. The broadness seemed familiar. She then noticed a warmth in between her thighs. It radiated like a small snake. She wanted to touch it, but out of respect of personal space (something that Taki has a little trouble comprehending) she doesn't. Still confused, she crawls her way to a nearby puddle. The reflection of her boyfriend's face and messy hair confirms her suspicions.

"Taki-kun?" she wondered "Why am I in his body?"

She steps outside of the shrine. The sky was still well-lit, but she knew that the night was inching its way closer and closer.

"Kataware-doki," The voice of her high school teacher murmured in her head, "When light and darkness become one. When something inhuman is said to happen."

From a distance she hears a voice calling out to her. She noticed a figure of a schoolgirl with short hair. Her eyes widened as she focused on her younger self waving at her.

"Mitsuha! Mitsuha!"

Mistuha knew that the schoolgirl's voice was hers. Like a reflex she calls out to the figure, but rather than calling the girl by her name something else comes out of her mouth.

"Taki-kun! Taki-kun!"

"Mitsuha! Mitsuha! Mitsuha!," The figure began to fade away and everything went to black

"Mitsuha! Mitsuha! Mitsuha!"

Awaking from her fall, Mitsuha still felt a pain on her head, but she was alright. A jacket supported her head; the scent it gave off reassured her of who was trying to wake her up. Groggily, she looks to the left. The shrine is so far from her. To the right where the lake and her old home was. All that remained were piles of debris untouched for years, a huge crater hugging it like a child keeping his toys to himself. A worried figure looked down on her.

"Where am I?"

"You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. You should really watch where you're going. I'll be damned if you get hurt under my hands."

"Taki-kun?" She gets up, dusting off her clothes still with a confused look on her face.

"You saw it too, huh?" Taki says cooly as he turns his orientation towards the lake.

"Enigma is overrated, Taki-kun. There's no reason to act cool in front of me"

"Ever since we got here, I'm been getting these strange visions. Of us, in each others bodies."

"Ehhh!" Mitsuha covers her torso with her arms ,"How can that be!?

"I'm not sure, but something became more apparent the closer we got to the shrine."

Taki turns to face his girlfriend, "Tell me, that day in Tokyo. It wasn't the first time we met, was it?"

"It wasn't."

The two stared out to the sun. It's light refracted a line that seemed to split the sky in half, but as the sun sank even lower that line started to fade. Eventually, the sky became whole again. It was finally the moment of unity: Kataware-doki. Both were entranced as colors of yellow and orange were slowly be gobbled by the surrounding darkness. Mitsuha couldn't help but stare into the lake once more, but noticed something peculiar.

"My town! It's there!"

"Look up in the sky!" Taki said, his finger pointing towards the heavens.

Comet Tiamat illuminated the sky. Streaks of ice and rock marked the night sky. The two can't seem to take their eyes off it.

In an instant both were inundated with visions of the past. Familiar ones that seemed too distant to remember. Their eyes filled with memories about each other. How they first met. Why they were connected. Their friends, their families reacting to their strange behavior. The lives they lived in each other.

Suddenly the visions stopped. The two stared at each other. They looked at each other, and noticed that they were looking at their younger selves. Taki saw his girlfriend in her old school uniform, her hair kept short with a braid tied to her head. Mitsuha stared at her boyfriend, who sported a hiking jacket. He looked shorter, but she was slightly unimpressed that his hairstyle never changed since he was in high school. In their minds they had so many questions to ask. Then Mistuha opened her mouth.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T WRITE YOUR NAME LIKE YOU SAID!? Honestly, who the hell says 'I love you' as a way to remember them by? What are you, some hopeless romantic!?"

"Hopeless romantic!? At least I was able to write something on your hand. You're such a slow writer, I swear! We could've saved a good five years trying to find each other!"

Mitsuha gasped in shock, she touches Taki's chest and removes the hair in front of her face, "So you do remember?"

"Now I do. I remember it all. The time I spent here in Itomori. My time spent in school with Tessie and Sayaka. How Yotsuha was always mad that I didn't wake up to make breakfast. There are more things, but I remember everything. What about you."

"Hmmm" Mitsuha pondered, "I remembered touching your penis, and being embarrassed about it. How you had such a crush on Miki-chan, and could never have enough hours at work."

Taki palms his face "Of all the things to remind me of, why those?"

"Because I love you, idiot" Mitsuha stick her tongue out at him.

The two stare at the sun as it sinks even deeper into the night, and once again their appearance return to their adult selves.

"Well this is an experience that we'll both treasure forever" Mitsuha exclaims as she stretches her arms out.

"Treasure…," Taki whispers, "Right." He takes out something from his pocket. He dusts off the specks of dirt that accumulated on the top of the case. His heart started beating rapidly.

"Mitsuha come over here," he stuttered. Puzzled, Mitsuha approaches her boyfriend, who is strangely being shy.

Taki gently grabs Mitsuha's hand. Her fondles with her fingers, the softness gave him ease over the situation he was about to place himself into. He looks his beloved in the eyes.

"How lucky must I be, to be with someone so beautiful," Taki thought.

Mitsuha's mouth gapes open in shock. Her eyes locked at his face as Taki reaches over to touch her hair.

"Many years ago, you gave this braid for me to treasure for three years. Many years later, you gave me your heart. So please, if you let me, I will treasure you for the rest of our days." Taki kneels down on one knee.

"Will you marry me?"

Mitsuha's expression is silent, but her face was bright-red. She quickly grabs her hand back and covers her face. The fog rolls by them as Mitsuha ponders on her decision.

"Hmmmm" She thought to herself long and hard.

"Please decide quickly," Taki says struggling to stay on his knee, "The rocks on this crater aren't the smoothest you know."

Mitsuha crosses her arms "My boobs won't be more available for you to touch even if I'm your wife! Pervert!"

No longer able to kneel comfortably, Taki stands up and dusts off his pants, "This isn't about boobs!"

"That's no way to talk to someone who helped you out on your date with Miki-chan. I bet you were so nervous. Did my links help you out?" Mitsuha smirked.

"Well you're one to talk, I'm the only boyfriend you ever had. Why are you even bringing this up!?"

Mitsuha hugs and kisses Taki on the cheek, catching him by surprise. She places her hand on his hair and tousles it playfully, "Because a marriage would be boring without a little teasing and laughter."

Taki smiles and wraps her arms around her.


	4. Acceptance

"I lost you once, both in body and memory. Yet, somehow I felt that there was something in me that felt incomplete. I wanted to tell you back then, that wherever you end up in this world, I'll be searching for you. And here you are, in front of me. You came on your own will, while I did nothing." Tears started rolling down Taki's face.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to muster up the courage to ask. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble."

Mitsuha grabs his hand and places it by her cheek, caressing it against her skin, "Just a little bit," she said as she smiled. Tears also spilled over her eyes.

"I never mentioned it back then, but you look really cute with short hair."

"I bet you would too."

The sun slowly sinks into the darkness as they laugh about their tumultuous journey. The comet becomes brighter, streaks of blue, green, and red paint the sky. A reminder of the past they left behind, but somehow never lost. The two share a kiss, as a piece of the comet breaks off and engulfs their silhouettes, the town vanishes and everything disappears in a blur as the comet kisses the earth. The destruction of the town engulfs the scenery. Debris scatters everywhere. The sound of the shockwave blasts hits the ears. Mitsuha sees the remnants of her old home. Filled with sadness and horror, she let out a scream.

Suddenly...

Mistuha wakes, drenched in a pool of sweat. She gazes around her bedroom, trying to figure out what just happened. "How much of what she experienced was a dream?" she thought to herself. She stares at her hands, and slowly reached for her breasts.

"Honestly, what pleasure did he see in grabbing these. They're just sacks of skin and fat. I didn't go about touching his dick when I was in his body."

Then a sudden epiphany occured in her as she continued to play with her breasts.

"Wait, he used to do this. I remember it all. But the meteor hit us both. How?"

Amidst the panic, her gaze suddenly focuses on her sleeping partner. She couldn't help but notice a band on his hand. She looks at her finger and sees a bright diamond glimmering brightly in the early dawn light. She can't help but smile at her handsome fiancee from Tokyo.

"Good grief, I won't question it anymore." She kisses Taki's sleeping head. Feeling at ease, she gets up from her bed and stares at the window as the sun begins to spread its luminance throughout the room. She yawns and stretches as she welcomes the new day.

"I guess it's my turn to make breakfast. Yotsuha will be pleased."

The door closes behind her.

BONUS:

Mitsuha enters the kitchen. Her face contorts to one of disappointment and embarrassment.

"Good morning," she said awkwardly.

Her sister ignored her. With her eyes closed, she simply continued eating her breakfast. Oba-chan was sipping a freshly brewed cup of tea. She turned her gaze towards her granddaughter, and smiled.

Swallowing the last bits of rice, she gulps a bowl of miso soup to end her meal. Yotsuha finally stands up and acknowledges her sister, her arms crossed, and chopsticks in hand. She points the chopstick at Mitsuha with a menacing leer.

"You know, pooning your fiancée after he proposes to you is not a good excuse to skip out on your chores, young lady," Yotsuha takes her dishes to the sink. Like a mother teaching her child a lesson, she wanted Mitsuha to simmer in disappointment.

"Honestly, you two idiots were meant to be!" she says as she scrubs the dishes abrasively.

"Please forgive me!" Mitsuha said as she repeatedly bowed her head apologetically.


End file.
